Individually packaged products having absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, panty liners or paper diapers each wrapped with a single packaging sheet are known in the prior art (see PTL 1 and PTL 2, for example). Individual packaging of the absorbent articles allows each of the absorbent articles to be conveniently and hygienically carried.
Individually packaged sanitary napkins attached with a wipe are also known, as disclosed in PTL 3. Fitting individually packaged sanitary napkins with wipes is convenient as it allows soiled parts to be wiped with a wipe sheet during exchange of a sanitary napkin.
With the individually packaged sanitary napkin illustrated in FIG. 12B and FIG. 15 of PTL 3; however, the inner section and outer section of the release wrapper are anchored only with a tape tab, making it possible for contaminants to infiltrate into gaps between the inner section (for example, 52a in FIG. 15) and outer section (for example, 53a in FIG. 15), creating a hygienic problem.
The individually packaged sanitary napkin illustrated in FIG. 12B and FIG. 15 of PTL 3 is also problematic in that the series of procedures for exchange of the sanitary napkin are difficult to perform.
It is a common procedure that when a sanitary napkin is exchanged, the individually packaged sanitary napkin is opened and the fresh sanitary napkin is separated from the packaging sheet while the used sanitary napkin is adhered to the same packaging sheet, and the used sanitary napkin is wrapped up by the packaging sheet. When a wipe is attached to the individually packaged sanitary napkin, usually the operation is followed by opening of the wipe, removal of the wipe, and use thereof to clean soiled areas.
However, when using the individually packaged sanitary napkin illustrated in FIG. 12B and FIG. 15 of PTL 3, if it is attempted to wrap the used sanitary napkin with the packaging sheet with the unused wipe still attached to the second section, the wipe becomes an interference and the user is thus forced to peel off the wipe from the packaging sheet before wrapping.
With the individually packaged sanitary napkin shown in FIG. 12A of PTL 3, despite the wipe being enclosed by a flap on the “outer section” of the release wrapper, the inner section and outer section of the release wrapper are anchored only by a tape tab. Thus, when using the individually packaged sanitary napkin illustrated in FIG. 12A of PTL 3, contaminants can infiltrate into the gap between the inner section and outer section of the release wrapper and result in hygienic problems, similar to the forms shown in 12B and FIG. 15.
Moreover, with the individually packaged sanitary napkin shown in FIG. 12A of PTL 3, the release wrapper also serves the role of a wipe bag, and therefore when the wipe is a wet type containing a chemical solution or the like, a water-resistant material must be used for the release wrapper and this can potentially increase cost.